


gone with the wind

by Chucychito



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bittersweet, But not all the time, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, Link talks sometimes, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 04:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18542041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chucychito/pseuds/Chucychito
Summary: "AU where after each Divine Beast Link appeases, it's correlating champion follows him around for the remainder of his journey as a spirit that only he can see, offering commentary and encouragements and whatnot."





	gone with the wind

Link hadn't understood at first why Mipha's spirit was still beside him after he'd defeated the Blight and exited the Divine Beast. Her soul had been trapped inside of Vah Ruta for one hundred years, why hadn't she passed on now that she was free?

"My spirit is bound to you now," Mipha had said as they stood together, looking out over the reservoir. "I've gifted you my grace, and I will stay by your side to assist you as well as I can until you have no need of it anymore."

Link dipped his sword in the water and swished it around idly. He wanted to ask what would happen after he defeated Ganon, to point out that he still didn't remember her, to ask why she seemed to care for him so much in the first place. But he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the answers to any of those questions, and besides, the moment was too calm and peaceful to break with such discussion. So, instead, he twirled his sword in silence, enjoying the warmth of the dying sunlight as it dried his wet armor.

"I do have one request," Mipha said after a few quiet minutes. Her voice trembled slightly, and she coughed quietly to cover it up. "Please do not tell Sidon or my father about this. You are the only person who can see me, and I do not think I could bear seeing their expressions when they realize I am here but we cannot see or touch each other."

"I won't," Link promised. His voice was slightly scratchy from disuse. The last time he'd spoken actual words had been to King Dorephan when he'd first set foot in Zora's Domain, two weeks ago now.

He straightened suddenly, sheathing the sword and swinging the strap over his back. His muscles screamed in protest, sore from his adventure in Vah Ruta and the ensuing battle with Waterblight Ganon, but it was unfortunately something he was very used to by this point, and easily ignorable. "It's getting late; I need to report back, and then start travelling again. Hopefully I can complete a few more shrines tonight yet."

Mipha nodded hesitantly, though she looked troubled. "Okay... But, if I may, I believe some rest would do you well. Although I've healed your injuries, you must be exhausted from that battle. Perhaps we should head out in the morning?"

Oh no. Link was used to making potentially unwise decisions on his adventure without having anyone question his judgment. Of course, Mipha's company was much welcomed, and her input was actually helpful, but Link was not looking forward to someone witnessing all of the "strategic" and "intelligent" choices made by the renowned Hero of Hyrule. And now that he was really thinking about it, how many mistakes did he make on average in a single day? Just yesterday he'd been knocked off a cliff by a single Chu Chu.

A Chu Chu for Hylia's sake! He very nearly died.

"Link, your face is getting red," Mipha pointed out in confusion.

Link flushed. "It's nothing," he said quickly. "Good idea. Let's go back now, then."

Goddess, he was going to have to start actually making smart decisions, wasn’t he?

* * *

 

While Link was reporting back to King Dorephan and Sidon, Mipha's ghostly appearance wavered slightly, and she hung back with her hands clasped together and her head lowered. Link glanced at her, wanting to convey some sort of apology or assurance, or anything to make her feel better, but she wouldn't meet his gaze, and there wasn't time to talk to her with everyone gathered around.

The king presented Link with a chest and insisted he keep the treasure inside. Opening it revealed a carefully crafted trident. It had been in use once, from the worn feeling of the handle, but the chipped paint here and there revealed that it hadn't seen battle in a long time. When he hesitantly lifted it from the box, inspecting it carefully as he would any other weapon, Mipha gasped softly behind him, and he turned to her in confusion. She seemed almost paralyzed, eyes flicking between the trident in his hands to Sidon, and then to the king.

"Do you remember what that is?" Sidon asked, not unkindly. He came to stand beside Link and leaned over to point out some of the elaborate designs of the weapon. "This was Mipha's weapon. It's called the Lightscale Trident."

Oh.

“I’m sure you’ll make better use of it than that chest would,” Sidon said lightly. “If it happens to break or anything, we’ll repair it for you, so don’t worry about preserving it.” His hand fell on Link’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Thank you again, Link. If you ever need anything, feel free to return and ask. I’ll do whatever I can to help you with your quest.”

Link ducked his head, both in acknowledgement and to hide his reddening face.

“Right, then.” Sidon cleared his throat and patted Link’s shoulder before taking a cordial step back. “Good luck, Link.”

“Thank you,” Link said quietly. Sidon’s answering smile was the brightest Link had seen it yet.

* * *

 

“Your map is incomplete,” Mipha said with a frown, looking over Link’s shoulder at the Sheikah Slate in his hands.

Link nodded.

“And you said you’ve lost your memory, right? So you have no idea where you’re going?”

Link nodded again, sheepishly this time. “That would be too easy,” he said.

Mipha hesitated, then reached out tentatively. “So we’re here,” she said, pointing at the marker on the map, “in Lanayru, outside Zora Domain. I don’t know many details, but up over here is Death Mountain and the Eldin Region,” she traced a line from the colored-in Lanayru Region to the blackened northern part of the map. “That’s where you’ll find Goron City, and Vah Rudania. And over here,” she trailed her finger all the way across, pointing at the top left corner. “This should be the Tabantha Region, or Hebra? That’s where Rito Village and Vah Medoh are. And then down here,” she pointed at the southwestern corner of the map. “Gerudo Desert. That’s where Vah Naboris is. And Gerudo Town, but I’m not sure you would be allowed inside…” At Link’s blank look, she added, “They only permit women inside.”

“So there’s a Divine Beast in every corner of the map?” Link asked.

“Roughly, yes.”

“Thank you,” he said, turning to her with a hesitant smile. This information would definitely come in handy-- now he didn’t have to wander around aimlessly and hope to run across one.

Mipha inclined her head. “Really, I’m glad to help.”

Link eyed the map for a few seconds. Death Mountain was the closest and theoretically the one he should go to next, but he wanted to stock up on fireproof elixirs and maybe invest in a Great Frostblade before trekking up the volcano. Gerudo desert would be a straight shot west, but there was the issue of Gerudo Town that he didn’t know how to address quite yet. That left Tabantha, which was the greatest distance but probably the easiest to tackle with what he had. If nothing else, the long route would allow him to scavenge for things along the long way to better prepare himself for the fight in Vah Medoh.

Link turned the Slate off and slipped it back into his bag, voicing his plan to Mipha.

“Okay,” she said. They set off once again, and she moved so she was walking at his side rather than behind him. “A word of caution… Once you free the spirits of the other champions, they will also accompany you. In this case, it’ll be Revali. Maybe the past one hundred years will have softened him a bit, but you might want to take his presence with a grain of salt.”

Link tilted his head in confusion. Mipha sighed.

“He was quite vocal in his… Opinion of you.”

Link’s snort of laughter surprised even himself. “Well, I’m sure when I save his spirit from eternal doom he’ll come around.”

Mipha smiled, but it quickly slipped away. “Perhaps,” she said vaguely.

* * *

 

They were somewhere in Central Hyrule when it was finally dark. Link was keeping himself busy by rummaging through his bag for things to cook in the fire he’d started for the night. He didn’t have a pot, but he’d found a stick and was thinking he could at least roast an apple or make some mushroom skewers. If only he kept things organized…

Mipha hadn’t said much as they walked. Link didn’t know what to say either, and he wasn’t usually one to break the silence anyway, so they’d travelled in wordless companionship until she softly reminded him to rest.

After a few minutes stretched by, Mipha tentatively sat beside him. “What are you making?” she asked in interest.

Link glanced at her. “I’m looking for some apples… There they are!” He pulled two out and offered one to the ghostly Zora. “You can roast it with that branch, if you want. Toasty apples are the best apples, after all.”

Mipha smiled down at her hands in her lap. “You’ve said that to me before. When we were children.” After a moment, she looked back up. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think I could eat it if I tried.”

“Oh, right.” Link’s face flushed in embarrassment. “I forgot about that.”

“It’s alright,” Mipha said amiably. “Go ahead and eat another one for me, okay?”

Well, he wouldn’t say no to that.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for about a year before I finally decided to write it. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear what you think-- I live for feedback!


End file.
